


Cracked Crown

by Punk_Grape



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-24 08:40:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20355592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Punk_Grape/pseuds/Punk_Grape
Summary: Rider is stubborn and doesn’t always think before doing something. This can land him in trouble.





	Cracked Crown

**Author's Note:**

> Basic rundown:  
Emperor is a king  
Rider is of noble birth from a neighbouring kingdom Emperor conquered, and took him prisoner when he realized Rider was a skilled fighter and had potential

A frown seemed to be permanently set on Rider’s face that day, lifting occasionally when Prince would stop by. He liked the kid, he really did, but why did he have to convince his stuck up brother of a king that he, Rider, had to attend a ball? It wasn’t that Rider hated balls, they could be enjoyable; he didn’t like the fact that he was being forced into another gaudy outfit and being forced to attend, and forced to stay beside Prince the entire time. Once again, he liked the kid, but he’d much rather come and go as he pleased. 

Still, it got him out of his quarters for an extended period, that was nice. Then again, out of there, only to be stuffed in the ballroom with a hundred or more aristocrats and nobles; now that was something he detested. True, he was raised of noble blood, and very much retained that quality, but Rider had a general distaste for his class; they were lazy and weak. His parents had taught him early on that hard work is far more rewarding, and as such, he’d often be seen doing all kinds of things other children of his standing would not. 

Rider was always asking for things to do, his favourite being using the axe. It was a heavy tool, one that required strength and care to use, but he found it rewarding; chopping wood for a fire, he loved the feeling of the heavy axe head coming down, the near bone snapping sound of logs being split, the mere look of the axe in the old stump he used as a chopping block. How he missed the stinging cold air in the mornings as he took early walks around their estate, a wool cloak draped over his shoulders. How he missed taking the axe into the woods just beyond their land, getting new wood for later. 

And now? Now he was dressed in too many layers of silk, embroidered with gold, ready for a ball; because the king who took him was seemingly too self indulgent for his own good. Rider wouldn’t deny he looked good, the doublet and pantaloons were quite the look on him, and his new heeled shoes only added to the look. The reflection wasn’t Rider, though. It was Rider dressed up, not himself. 

There was a knock on his door, Prince was waiting for him, being escorted by two guards to see him safely to the ballroom. The kid was excited, Rider could see that plain as day, and tried to give him the best smile he could. “Ready to be bored?” He asked jokingly as he joined Prince. 

“I won’t be bored, this is a ball.” 

Oh, to be young and naive. “While you will have me at your side at all times, I must warn you, these events can often prove dull. The music will be slow, there will be talk of politics more than anything else. I highly doubt it will stray from that.” The noble watched the kid’s face fall. “That doesn’t mean it has to be boring,” he added. 

“But you said it would be.” 

Rider shook his head. “You and I can find amusement, trust me.” 

Trust him he did; not even five minutes from arriving and being announced, Prince was pulling on Rider’s hand, saying he was bored. As soon as he heard that, he led the kid up a staircase, to a balcony that overlooked the ballroom below. 

Not many frequented the deck, it was too out of the way for most, and those who sought it out did so with the desire for secrecy. Rider, however, wanted it as a vantage point, for Prince was still rather short, and needed to see most people attending. The two sat down right by the railing, and looked at the mass of nobles, Rider already smiling. “Alright Prince, find someone who looks either really funny or interesting in some way.” 

Puzzled, Prince scanned the floor, until his sights settled on someone. “Her. The one with the orange hat.” Rider found said person instantly, and had to commend the child for finding them; orange hat with green plumage gave the impression she wore a pumpkin on her head. Her face, done up with far too much rouge, gave the woman an almost angry look. The dress she wore matched the hat, he gave her credit for that at least, but gave her a funny shape; she had broader shoulders, but as the in fashion had her corset as tight as she could manage, thinning her waist horrifically so. 

“Good choice. Now, let’s try to come up with her story. Who she is, why she is here, wearing that outfit.” 

“Oh! Okay um...” Prince studied their subject, looking for something. “She is the daughter of a visiting dignitary from a place that celebrates Halloween year round, it’s why she dresses as a pumpkin.” The kid began to laugh quietly, then continued. “She wants to make everyone eat only pie.” 

That seemed to tickle the young royal’s funny bone, Prince laughing louder as he continued on and on about the woman. Finally it was Rider’s turn, and he came up with something equally as ridiculous, a man who wanted everyone to walk like penguins. The two continued on, pointing different people out to the other with a little back story, until Rider felt someone tap his shoulder. 

He looked up and noticed a guard, neutral faced as always. “His Majesty requests your presence.” 

A sigh left Rider as he stood. “I’ll be back, Prince, your brother wants to see me I guess.” He made his way down, over to where he thought the king would be, but found it devoid of one pompous royal; movement to the back corner of the room caught his attention, and he saw Emperor standing at a doorway, arms crossed. “Oh boy,” he muttered as he walked over, the king looked pissed. 

The moment he reached Emperor, his wrist was grabbed, and he was yanked out of the room into a hall. As much as Rider tried, he couldn’t get the king to let go, until they were a safe distance away from the ball. “What were you thinking,” Emperor hissed.

“Excuse me? What did I do wrong?” Rider asked, annoyed at being torn into without the slightest idea of what he did. 

Emperor gave a huff, his frown only growing. “Do you know how hard it is to explain why Prince is sitting on the floor with his ‘weapons tutor’, laughing hysterically at guests?” 

“You’re pissed that I was helping him not die of boredom,” Rider stated. “Well excuse me your majesty, for wanting the kid to be a fucking kid and enjoy himself, not sit there bored out of his goddamn mind listening to things he doesn’t understand.” 

Golden eyes burned into green, neither backing down. “You do not get to decide how he grows up, that is none of your concern. Need I remind you that you are a prisoner? You’ve had far too many liberties up until now.” 

“Get the fuck over yourself, not my fault Prince likes me more than he likes you.” 

Silence settled between the two, the king seething as he decided what he wanted. “Enjoy yourself in the dungeon,” he sneered, then gave a wave of his hand, and guards grabbed Rider by the arms. “Put him across from Aloha’s door, he’s not to touch him, but he is more than welcome to talk with him or leave the door open for a show.”

Rider’s stomach did a flip, he could barely handle what he saw for one second, now he was being locked up across from that room of horrors. He didn’t struggle against the guards as he was brought deep into the basement, his mind was too busy reeling from realizing that this was his reality. It was eerily quiet as the cell doors was closed, an awful odour of stale blood and urine surrounding him. 

He had half the mind to turn away when the torturer bounced over to the cell, excited for some company. “King says I can’t touch you yet,” Aloha began with a smile. “Says he’s not sure if he wants ya dead or not. But did say I should be ready to get your tongue.” Rider instinctively pulled his tongue as far back into his mouth as he could. “You must’ve really pissed him off.” 

“He’s a stuck up asshole who can’t take no for an answer, and got pissy when I said Prince likes me better because I actually let the kid live a little.” 

Aloha nodded in understanding. “Guess that’s why he’s seriously thinking about removing that tongue of yours. Such a pretty one, too.” Rider looked at the torturer in disgust and fear. “Aww. Don’t gimme that look. I can show you!” 

“Show me what?” Rider asked cautiously, and immediately regretted it. 

With uncanny speed, Aloha zipped into his room, and returned with his arms laden with glass jars. “Okay, so these are most of the tongues I’ve been allowed to keep.” Rider started straight ahead, no way was he looking at those jars. “Some were sent away as like warnings and stuff, but generally I get to keep stuff. Oh, I could show you my collection of toes next, they’re interesting with all the different prints and stuff. Oh oh oh and also my eyeballs! They’re really cool, all different colours and the veins are real neat too. Maybe I’ll get someone soon that I can remove their eye, so you can hear the plop. It’s really satisfying, ya know?” 

On and on Aloha went about his various collections of things in preserving jars; eyes, toes, fingernails, ears, dicks, tongues, hearts, stomachs, lungs, anything he could fit in a jar and fill with resin, he was allowed to keep, unless it was requested to be sent away of course. He then lamented about all the beautiful extremities he’s had to part with over the years, recalling each with a far off, near dreamy look. 

Rider had a very hard time keeping the contents of his stomach, barely managing each time Aloha popped by. Of course the torturer was the one to hand him his food; water in a cup, stale bread, and raw vegetables, it was on par with what peasants ate, and Rider was always left on the brink of being full, never satisfied with his food. Several times, Aloha offered Rider some of his lunch, homemade food that normally would seem appetizing, except for the fact that it was Aloha. 

A week passed, it was fairly quiet as Aloha had no one to work on, instead just talking Rider’s ear off with stories about his different victims, his favourite techniques, prisoners he wanted to open up but was denied access. Then one day, Rider couldn’t tell if it was morning or not, he woke up to the sound of someone screaming. Eyes shot wide open as the most chilling noise he’d heard in his life came from the room across from him. 

Aloha had noticed Rider was awake, and gave him a wave. “Good morning!” he said with a smile, for it was indeed a very good morning, he had someone to play with. He took some cloth and balled it up, then placed it in the person’s mouth to quiet them so he could talk. “Sorry for waking you, this person, I haven’t even done anything and they’re already screaming. I do love screamers, but I wanna show you something.” Rider realized the table the person was strapped to was on wheels as Aloha pushed it forward, getting very close to the door. 

Aloha produced what Rider thought was a spoon, though he didn’t want to ask, and used one hand to pry the person’s eyelids open, then slid the utensil into the eye socket. He could tell the person below was bawling and screaming, he didn’t blame them; having a spoon shoved into their eye looked excruciating. 

Then, the most haunting sound he would hear all day filled the hall, a wet, sloppy plop came from the unfortunate victim, and not a moment later Aloha held up an eyeball. “Oh, this one is really pretty, Hope I can keep it. But did ya hear that noise? I could listen to that on repeat it’s just so satisfying.” Rider heard the noise all right, and nearly vomited as a result. “That reminds me, his majesty should be coming down today, since this baby spilled the beans just outta fear. Imagine being that unreliable that you tell things just by being scared.” 

Emperor was coming down? Rider had no interest in seeing the king, he had made his standing quite clear last they saw each other. The noble turned away when he saw Aloha wheel the table back to its original position, opting to curl up and close his eyes; if the king was coming, he would do everything he could to show no interest in him. 

Time was weird, Rider had no way of telling what time it was, so he had no idea how long it took for the king to make his appearance. At first it seemed as though he would ignore Rider, for he said nothing to him, instead going straight to Aloha. He heard the door close, of course they’d close it, didn’t want him overhearing sensitive information, and was glad that when the door opened, he heard footsteps leading out the main door; Emperor hadn’t even paid him the slightest bit of attention. 

At least that’s what he thought, for the person who left was Aloha, on the king’s orders. Emperor wanted a little one on one time with his prisoner, a smirk forming as he saw realization dawn on Rider that Aloha left. “Fuck off.” 

The royal laughed. “Is that any way to talk to your king?” 

“Fuck off, your majesty.” 

“Good Rider,” Emperor said with a grin. “Aloha tells me you’ve behaved well, ready to be done with your time out?” 

Rider shot him a heated glare. “Time out my ass. Time out is go sit in a fucking corner, not subject me to that goddamn psycho.” 

“Hm, I actually find Aloha rather sane, but I suppose I get your point.” To Rider’s astonishment, Emperor unlocked the door himself, and held it open. “Come along.” 

He had a choice to make, go along with the king, or refuse and be subjected to even more Aloha. Choosing the former, Rider stood up on weak legs, his most recent diet left him with little energy. On the way out, they passed Aloha, who gave them a cheerful wave goodbye, and began to climb the stairs. 

Hand weren’t bound, feet weren’t chained, mouth not gagged, and yet Rider followed in perfect silence, walking on egg shells behind the king. Eventually his surroundings turned familiar, and Rider knew he was being led to his old room. “Thank you,” he muttered. 

Emperor stopped in his tracks, had he heard Rider correctly? “Did you just exhibit some kind of manners towards me?” 

“Yeah. Thanks I guess, for not letting Aloha dissect me.” 

Without warning, Rider’s wrist was grabbed, and the king hurriedly walked to Rider’s room. The door closed, and Emperor made himself comfortable in a chair by a desk, while Rider collapsed onto his bed. “As a king, I disapprove heavily what stunt you pulled at the ball, as his brother, I was glad to see him smile. I don’t have the ability to spend time with him, and that pains me.” 

Rider began to understand why Emperor got so pissed with what he said, overreacted for sure, but he understood better the reason. “I’m sorry, for what I said. You were being pissy, and I just spoke without thought.”

Emperor stared at him like he had two heads, Rider had apologized. “Prince followed us, heard everything. I heard him crying around the corner after you were taken away, you’re invaluable to him, you admittedly fill in where I cannot.” The king turned to look away, he had to collect himself; tears were just at the surface, talking about his brother was never easy on him. “I hurt him, I never wanted to, he’s all I have left,” he whispered, Rider barely managing to hear him. 

The chair was knocked back as Emperor stood abruptly, startling Rider. “Wait, Emperor, don’t-“ he started, but the king had already left the room. “-go...” he stared at the chair, deep in thought; had he been crying, or close to? The way he whispered, it saddened Rider more than he would admit; he was an only child, but still had his parents, whereas Emperor had only Prince for love, and with the entire kingdom resting on his shoulders, he never could see his brother except in passing. 

Guilt began eating away at him, the king had always come off as an insufferable, arrogant person, but Rider was just now starting to understand; everything he’s said and done most certainly hasn’t been helpful. He had to apologize, had to find Emperor and apologize for things he’d said, things he’d done. Rider had only ever tried to antagonize him, angry from being captured by him, but now he could see the cracks in the king’s shell. 

Nearly tripping over himself, Rider raced from the room, headed for the throne room, not realizing it was nighttime until he stood before the door. The moon was high in the sky, casting a silver glow across the rugs covering the stone floor as he hovered his hand in front of the door. As he pushed it open, his eyes focused on the throne at the end of the room, where Emperor sat, hunched over, turning his crown over in his hands. 

Rider was in front of him in no time, kneeling down to try and look at the king’s face, finding his cheeks red and wet; that made Rider pause, Emperor was crying. Before he could say anything, Emperor spoke, quiet and slightly cracked. “I can’t lose him too.” 

“Hey,” Rider said, matching the volume. “You won’t lose him. He loves you.” 

Emperor shook his head, and brought a shaking hand to cover his face. “I hurt him. I hurt him and I can’t fix it.” The king sat up momentarily, only to chuck the crown in his hand as far as he could, the metal accessory clanging on the floor as it bounced and rolled away. “I can’t fix this.” 

The noble reached out tentatively and placed his hand in Emperor’s. Getting no reaction, he moved closer, until he sat on the floor, directly below him. “You can, take a break.” 

“If only it were that simple,” Emperor mused. 

“Your officials can run the kingdom for a bit, they’re more than equipped to do so.” Rider got no verbal response, only watching as Emperor moved forward until he slid off the chair, wedged himself between Rider and the throne. On instinct, he wrapped his arms around him. “Take a break, Emperor. This is too much, it’s killing you.” 

He heard a shaky “Can’t” from Emperor, and held him tight. “I’m going to Eging, you’re taking a break.” Emperor curled into Rider, he hadn’t had comforting, caring physical contact since the day his parents died, and he was in dire need of it. “I’m here for you.”


End file.
